About Us
Albert Lea Seed House was founded in 1923 as a family-owned seed store offering field seed, garden seed and farm supplies. Saturday nights were the big sales nights as farmers and their families made the weekly trek into town to shop. Founder Lou Ehrhardt, always sharply dressed in shirt and tie, established a legacy of great customer service. Current owners Tom and Mac Ehrhardt, grandsons of Lou Ehrhardt, currently operate the Seed House. You can still call and talk directly with them. When is the last time you talked with the owner of that huge multi-national seed company? One-on-one customer service is still very important to us. Farmers and growers like you have appreciated our prices, and respected our simple, fair approach to farm seed that doesn't involve hidden deals. We have expanded our genetic options, increased access to traits and seed treatments, and offer new financing and other services. Today you will find elite genetics and leading-edge technologies from all the major genetic suppliers at prices up to 40% less than the major seed brands. We are able to ship seed using Speedee, UPS, and/or LTL freight. Until we have this website fully e-commerce enabled, you will have to call us for a freight quote. Often, our seed prices plus shipping charges are still more economical than the seed you can find in your own area. We maintain professional memberships with the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association, American Seed Trade Association, Western Seed Association, Sustainable Farming Association, both the National and the Minnesota Corn and Soybean Growers Associations, and the Independent Professional Seedsmen Association. In addition, we are Certified Organic Processors meeting the National Organic Program standards for processing organically-raised grains, soybeans and other field crops. We have been located at our current location since 1976. Our plant is designed to process three lines of seed products simultaneously. The facility has expanded grain storage capacity of 350,000 bushels and maintains 100,000 square feet of warehouse space. Seed produced and conditioned by the Albert Lea Seed House has been grown and labeled in accordance with the rules and inspections established by the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association for certified conventional and certified organic seed.
